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AMON DÜÜL were a huge musical collective that had a spectacular appearance in a tv-show in 1968. Before they put out their first album they split though, and one half set off to form AMON DÜÜL II.

The others kept the name AMON DÜÜL and in 1969 published the first Krautrock album ever, "Psychedelic Underground". It was very badly produced, and the music consisted of long improvisations, but after this album no other band needed to have an inferiority complex. Their second official album "Paradieswärts Düül" (1970) is much better produced and has a folky touch. The albums "Collapsing - Singvögel Rückwärts", "Disaster" and "Experimente" stem from the same session as "Psychedelic Underground" and are of similar nature; they were published after the band had split up already.

Psychedelic Underground is the debut psychedelic rock album by the German band Amon Düül. It was released in 1969.

AllMusic Review by Ned Raggett: “Some
albums just have the perfect name, and Amon Duul's debut nails that to a
T. Obscure upon release and obscure even now, for all the cult appeal,
Underground is music at its most experimental and relentlessly
uncommercial, using late-'60s inspirations as a launching ground for
what came to be described as Krautrock. Psych-folk was
another common term, one which applies just fine to much of the music
here, feeling like an enthusiastic medieval festival gone just out of
control enough, and with electricity to boot. Taken from a jam session
from the previous year, but treated with many studio effects that
enhance the strangeness of the collection, Underground rocks to its own
weird beat. Opening track "Ein Wunderhubsches Madchen Traumt von
Sandosa" captures what sounds like a great experience for everyone
involved, a 17-minute composition heavy on the drums and percussion,
with a basic, chugging guitar riff in one channel and chanting,
call-and-response vocals located throughout the mix. At one point the
jam is faded out in favor of piano parts, train noises, and the like,
only to be brought back in again just as strongly, before finally fading
into the gentler "Kaskados Minnelied," a mix of acoustic and electric
guitars, along with a stringed instrument of some sort, that favors
drones as much as it does soft riffs. The tracks on the second side have
the same understandable vibe, but some are sparer in comparison, as
with the keening strummed guitar/vocal combination "Im Garten Sandosa"
and "Mama Duul und Ihre Sauerkrautband spielt auf," which is mostly
clattering percussion in one stereo channel! You could say the sound
quality isn't the best, but given the year of recording and the
prevelance of lo-fi production approaches in more recent years, it
doesn't sound that bad at all.”

GAM were pioneers of the 'Kosmische Musik' which never became that famous as Ashra Tempel or Tangerine Dream. Hard to believe considering this excellent album which holds german song titles. The instrumentation is not familiar for this style though - consisting of drums and two electric guitars. Günther Schickert can be compared to Manuel Göttsching stylistically.Sepp oben ich unten and Wilderness are proving that for example with looping guitars whereas one is substituting the repetitive bass line. This implies a grooving rhythm supported by drummer Michael Leske. However - this sounds different, improved compared to the raw sessions from the predecessor album recorded with a simple equipment at Schickert's cellar.

Cluster II is the second full-length album by German electronic music outfit Cluster and their first album with the band reduced to a duo. Conny Plank, who was credited as a member on the first album, decided to concentrate on production and engineering. Plank is still credited as a composer together with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius on all tracks.

In 1973, Faust had gained a reputation as a 'difficult' band, thanks to both their pure-drone collaboration with Tony Conrad, Outside the Dream Syndicate, and the infamous Faust Tapes, a cut-and-paste collage of studio shards sold in the UK for 48 pence —the same price as a single— as a promotional introduction to English audiences. Yet, Faust's masterwork, Faust IV, is anything but hard to love; beginning with the epic, immense, swelling, 12-minute "Krautrock," in which corrosive guitar, blips of synthesizer, spirals of organ, and skittering percussion slowly build up to celestial heights. The song didn't give the genre its name, as many mistakenly think; rather, Faust were laughing at what the British press were calling their music.
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In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the release of Can’s convention-shifting double album Tago Mago, Spoon Records have given the record a new lease of life. Packaged in its original 1971 UK artwork and containing 50 minutes of previously unreleased live material, the re-release is a worthy tribute to what was a genre-defining work of psychedelic, experimental rock music.

Popul Vuh's career was inextricably tied to that of genius filmmaker Werner Herzog, one of the brightest lights of Junger Deutscher Film, a concurrent cinematic movement whose designs on building a new German culture mirrored that of the krautrockers. Florian Fricke's project was perfectly suited to the realm of cinematic score because, unlike many of their rhythm-driven peers, they made eerie, floating, shape-shifting mood music. Mixing synth drones with North African percussion, Fricke created environmental paeans that liberated spiritualism from its liturgical past, celebrating a glorious, hippy-ish pantheism. In Den Gärten Pharaos is split into two lengthy, loving workouts, in which the Popol Vuh sound is almost born before your eyes.

4 stars Now here is a superb find for all those who love early experimental Krautrock. "Edge Of Time" is a pure holographic folk-avant garde album recorded in early 1970 by a quartet with members from Germany, Poland and Hungary. Dom definitely reside more on the acoustic dreamy side than on the electric side with soft hand percussion, acoustic instruments, space synths and lots of flute. No question these were a true astral quartet who thru their hallucinogenic music will take you on a voyage into space. I hear traces of early PINK FLOYD, AMON DUUL II and even CLUSTER in their music, but overriding DOM's music is original. Second Battle have done a fantastic job in preserving and re-mastering this album to perfection with tons of great bonus tracks and interesting artwork. Electronic progressive psychedelia at its finest.

A bunch of free-jazz musicians taken under the spell of rock'n'roll (and,
well, acid, too), Guru Guru took their experimental, interpretive,
improvisational training and applied it to psychedelic rock.
Their debut album —named, with no irony, UFO— voyages headlong into the
far-reaches of the known audio galaxy; the band ringing out all kinds of
crazy sounds from an utterly normative line-up of guitar, bass, and
drums. The album's 10-minute title-track is a fearless plunge into totally
freeform, utterly freaky trance-states, and it is followed by the fried,
flute-strangling closer "Der LSD Marsch," whose title gives a pretty
good example of the imbibing habits of Guru Guru,
both at the time and in the future.
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I want to read some of the liner notes to you which were written by a friend of the band Asmus Tietchens who also has been making electronic music since 1965. He says, "It equalled a sensation when music journals announced in 1973 that Dieter Moebius, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Michael Rother were planning to work together. Under the name CLUSTER, Moebius and Roedelius had already occupied an indispensable place in the electronic music scene from 1969 on. Rother was known as one of the 1971 founding fathers as well as flamboyant member of the band NEU! Yet the prospect of the three of them joining forces seemed all too delicate to be true. By then, the CLUSTER album "Zuckerzeit" had not been

Neu!
had only booked into the studio, to record their first LP, for four
days. Yet, two days in, they barely had anything worth using. Drummer
Klaus Dinger and multi-instrumentalist Michael Rother had been in an
early version of Kraftwerk (on drums and guitar) in 1971, and, in love
with how it felt playing those repetitive, machine-like rhythms live,
they'd formed their own band. They were called Neu!, and their goal was
that simple: to make a kind of music that was wholly new, unlike
anything that'd come before. Bunkering down with Kraftwerk producer
Conny Plank in a Düsseldorf studio, Dinger and Rother were hoping for
magic. With half their time gone, they were struggling. (By Anthony CarewAlternative Music Expert)

Review by Neu!mannPROGarchives.com REVIEWER2 stars Comeback albums aren't normally as haphazard as this belated effort by one of Krautrock's essential forefathers: recorded in 2009; offered as a digital download under the name "Bee as Such" in 2010; and four years later finally given a legitimate CD release, with a better title and actual sleeve art...everything except a credible performance, sadly.

Easily Steamhammer's crowning achievment (certainly as far as progheads are concerned) , although many rockers will prefer Mountains. The main difference with this album and other Steamhammer albums is Steve Joliffe who is not unknown to progheads since he went through Tangerine Dream , albeit on their controversial Cyclone , the only TD album to have acoustic instruments and yes! Vocals!!!!

Their 5th album, live in concert. Great prog!! ...or just hard rockVery rare out of print double CD...

1976 / 1995 (Nova / Second Battle)As
far as I am aware, there were no other German bands like Kin Ping Meh,
who chose their name in the Chinese language! In 1970, this quintet
assembled in Mannheim: Werner Stephan (lead vocals), Joachim Schafer
(guitar, piano, vocals), Fritz Schmitt (organ, piano), Torsten Herzog
(bass) and Kalle Weber (drums). They played live extensively during
their early years, performing a rough hard rock modeled on British bands
like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Spooky Tooth. Soon, Kin Ping Meh were
discovered by Polydor's talent scouts. Joachim Schafer left the band
just before the recording of their first album. He was promptly replaced
by Willie Wagner (guitar, harmonica, vocals), who joined the band in
the Windrose Studio. Indeed, Wagner wrote the stand-out track of this
album, the opening 11-minute 'Fairy-Tales', a haunting heavy rock song
with long, 'progressive' guitar and organ solo parts. Even if you do not
find this style attractive, you'll sense the great enthusiasm of the
band. There were also some mellow, folky songs on the album, like 'Too
Many People', recorded live and boasting an irresistible chorus. 'Kin
Ping Meh' was produced by the experienced rock veterans Achim Reichel
and Frank Dostal. The engineer was none other than Konrad Plank. The
album is highly recommended for fans of groups like Epitaph,
Zarathustra, Frame, etc. It's now quite rare (selling for more than 300
DM) as the first and only vinyl edition was only pressed at around 5,000
copies.

3 stars! Gone is the wind section (which is not necessarily a bad thing IMO). Gone is Jerry Goodman (which is not necessarily a good thing IMO). He was replaced by another great violin player : Mike Zydowsky who joined the band in 1973 or so for their touring over Europe.

The music here is less jazz oriented than on their first two albums and there are some very good tracks in here. Still, jazz is very much present during the longest song from this album : "Back To You". It goes along with the poorest : "Hang On" which is a funky / soul song which is best avoided, believe me.

Chapter Music presents two rare live recordings from quintessential Sydney prog group Tully, including their 1970 performance of Australia’s first ever rock opera. These recordings capture the band in their first incarnation, before they joined forces with members of revered folk-psych band Extradition to explore more contemplative territory.Sights & Sounds Of 69, from a May show of the same name, is the only live Tully recording to have survived the intervening four decades, and documents a typically far-ranging, mind-expanding performance.Perhaps Australia’s greatest living composer, Peter Sculthorpe wrote Love 200 specifically with Tully and vocalist Jeannie Lewis in mind. The work, commemorating Captain Cook’s expedition to map the Transit of Venus in 1769, was dismissed by the stuffy classcial establishment at the time, but Sculthorpe now calls it simply “one of my best works.” Heard here for the first time since the early 70s, Love 200 is an astounding piece, both elegant and jarring, serene and chaotic.Sadly, all three of Tully’s studio albums are still to be officially reissued. Until then, Live at Sydney Town Hall, 1969-70 is a fascinating insight into the early work of one of Australia’s most heralded, but least heard bands.

004 EMI/Harvest CD Remaster of the Broughton's 2nd album originally released in 1970, with an additional eight bonus tracks including the singles 'Out Demons Out' and 'Up Yours' which makes this the definitive version for all your Edgar freaks.

Radical, political, hairy freaks influenced by Captain Beefheart, Zappa, psychedelia, jazz, folk and the blues the Broughton's played a seminal part in the late 60's early 70's UK underground scene alongside Hawkwind and The Pink Fairies. Playing free concerts and benefit gigs nationwide and building a reputation for incendiary, intense and shamanic performances the Broughton's were a major influence on the anarcho-punk scene of the late 70's as well as one of the UK's most original, and now long forgotten, psych rock bands. Live performance was the mainstay of the band's reputation but they also left behind a half dozen studio albums that are astonishing for their creativity, musicianship and songwriting ability.

Review by siLLy puPPy
Collaborator PSIKE Team (From Progarchives.com)
5 stars This is definitely Krautrock but unlike most contemporaries that were distancing themselves from the blues and rock influences of the 60s, A.R. & MACHINES fully utilized a blues based guitar sound on this album. What makes this so trippy is that they added guitar loops, effects and feedback like there's no tomorrow. It can sound like a very accessible sound one moment and then suddenly burst into extremely trippy worlds where the only thing that's for sure is that echos and feedback are plentiful, but all with an underlying catchiness.

A legend in its own lifetime, Keep Them Freaks a Rollin' was, as its subtitle makes plain, recorded live at Abbey Road Studios in 1969, as a possible first album by the then newly signed Broughton Band. However, the tapes were shelved in favor of a more conventional studio recording, and only one excerpt ever made it out, a harshly edited 45 of the closing "Out Demons Out," already established as the band's live tour de force. The full-length version, however, remained unheard and, like the rest of the show, it eventually faded into mythology. The tapes were finally resuscitated in 2004, to herald EMI's CD remastering of the full Edgar Broughton Band catalog.

A.R. & Machines biography
Producer, composer and musician from Hamburg (Germany), Achim Reichel is
a key figure in the explosion of krautrock. Reichel was first a founder
member of "The Rattles" at the beginning of the 60's. In 1968 he formed
the "Wonderland band" with the drummer Frank Dostal. Late 60's he
launched his first solo musical project called A.R and the machines.
Musically it provides a supreme sonic musical voyage turned to cycled
psychedelic guitar playing with lot of echoes and delay. The first album
was published in 1971 in collaboration with Frank Dostal. The album
presents an ambitious collection of spacey rock jams featuring a lot of
electronic effects and arrangements. This album prefigures "acid" trips
of krautrock guitar / minimal electronic explorers like Manuel
Gottsching. The guitar freakouts and the weird imagination of the first
effort continue to prevail in the following inspired, confused and
various Die Grune Reise, A.R. IV, Autovision (generally a mix between
guitar soudscapes and psych pop orientated songs). Reichel decided to
abandon the project after 5 studio albums. Today A.R and the machines
remains a high class standard of hypnotic space-echo guitar inventions.

An
obscure little diamond shining out from under the shadow of its big
name contemporaries. A consistently entertaining bluesy hard rock album
from the late 60's.Yesterday's Children were an American
proto-metal band who enjoyed a brief but unsuccessful three year career
during the late 60's. They released three singles and one self titled
album before splitting up in 1969. Apart from a few spurious pieces of
information scattered over the internet and a transcription of a short
interview with guitarist Don Howard Krantz not much else is really known
about the band.

A great benefit of the internet is that many long lost records are being (re)discovered. This little gem is from an antipodean band who would likely have received no exposure in the northern lattitudes. Which is a shame because their only album is of great interest to those who like the Genesis side of 70s Prog, awash with memorable melodies, inventive arrangements and a high standard of musicianship. The sound is warm and friendly in typically 70s fashion, well produced but not stifling the natural flow of ideas.

There seems to be two main singing voices, one of whom sounds like an early Peter Gabriel on steroids, while the other is a plummy tenor akin to Ray Thomas. Fortunately, the latter is the more prominent, and with some excellent rich high harmonies the Moody Blues comparison is quite striking, nowhere more than the superb Out Of The Woods. Guitars dominate the instrumentation, often with acoustic varieties providing excellent rhythmic support. Both guitarists get the chance to shine with some excellent lead runs and solos, though just occasionally a little extra spark of inspiration would come in handy. Keyboards largely fulfill a background role, mostly filling in the gaps, but the rhythm section is very good and the bass is especially inventive and forward in the mix.

Review by Eetu PellonpaaFrom Progarchives.com5 stars Late Pekka Pohjola's debut album stands for me as the ultimate highlight among Wigwam member's solo recordings, and also a stylistic peak on his own solo career. Though the later recordings have certainly their merits, I was blown away by the energies of this iconic outburst of young talent's furious bass guitar assault. Virtuosic skills are ruthlessly displayed like capercaillie males do on their fight for proprietary rights for the females. Composed jazz-sequences are contrasted with more open improvisational spaces. Pekka's classical music education is implemented on the currents of more tender keyboard and violin driven curls, and traditional folk music is also blended to the stylistic palette. This very fine album culminates in my ears to the entity of two long tracks, which were partly also on Wigwam's live repertoire. There are some wah-wah treated bass licks, and very sensual movements evolving to ecstatic bass guitar solos on freeform musical interplay phases. I hope this record would be reissued on vinyl, as wonderful it is, have not found it with reasonable price yet. I also guess the album might not be most interesting from global perspective, locating more to the local progressive rock scene of 1970's Finland. As instrumental I think it is anyway internationally accessible. *******************************

You
could say that KEBNEKAJSE were more or less formed out of the ashes of
the legendary Swedish band MECKI MARK MEN, where three soon-to-be
KEBNEKAJSE members were playing. KEBNEKAJSE's debut album "Resa mot
okänt mål" (A Journey to destination unknown) is a Swedish classic,
although it differs a lot from the albums that would follow. This album
was released before KEBNEKAJSE discovered the Swedish folk music. Now it
has finally been available in the CD format, 30 years after the
original LP release.

The music is loud guitar based hard rock
with reminiscences to CREAM, MECKI MARK MEN, MOUNTAIN, NEON ROSE and
NOVEMBER. The sound was somewhat typical British but the sparse lyrics
were in Swedish. Perhaps it's quite unfair to say so, but I have always
considered the guitarist Kenny Håkansson to be the most important member
in the band. It was he who gave KEBNEKAJSE their unique sound with his
original guitar sound and playing.

-Fairly average psych prog album from 1974 by this band from California. Some nice swirly organ and fuzzy guitar.-Somewhat
hard, semi-commercial prog rock, featuring some good guitar, and decent
song writing. Nothing extraordinary here, but a good, solid album.

5 stars Metalised psychedelic
rock, the music impacts like nuclear force and settles within you. Led
Zep, Deep P, Black Sabbath and assorted bands where supposed to be
heavy, but this stands alone (we are talking about 1969) as the
predominant ultimate heavy metal attack. Even compared with regular
(80's) Heavy Metal (Metallica, Iron Maiden) High Tide has been there,
seen it and done it already. Rougher, louder and better at it, if I may
add.

Entrenched deep within the psychedelic scene High Tide
explores the field in a new direction, forcefull guitar riffing, high
paced rhythms (and some slow paced passages thrown in for good measure)
makes High Tide stand with one foot in late 60's psychedelica and the
other in 80's heavy metal, everything passes by, from The Doors (Walking
Down Their Outlook) Iron Maiden (Death Warmed Up), till Led Zeppelin
combined with Arthur Brown (Futilist's Lament).

Blue Goose is a really great record out of the UK from 1975 that sounds more like it's from 1972 or 1973. Just a real loud jammin, hard, heavy, psych/blues boogie sound with great guitars, keyboards and some harmonica. Everything I love about early 70's rock and a real lost gem!!!

Eddie Clarke(of Motorhead) left the band just prior to the recording of this album.

SPETTRI was a five-piece band from Florence, formed by brothers Ugo and Raffaele Ponticiello in 1964. They had a fairly long career and released several singles during the height of the Italian beat era although their sound gradually evolved and by the turn of the decade they had turned to performing covers of songs by contemporary heavy rock groups from the UK and USA. The band also underwent a number of personnel changes during the intervening years and among the musicians who came and went was drummer Mauro Sarti of CAMPO DI MARTE fame. The youngest member of the Ponticiello clan, Vincenzo, joined in 1971 thus making the venture a real family affair.

Tramline was a hard-rocking blues-based quartet, not too different from Free and other guitar-heavy outfits of the late '60s, and for a time even shared label affiliation with the latter band. Formed by John McCoy (vocals, harmonica), Mick Moody (guitar), Terry Sidgwick (bass, vocals), and Terry Popple (drums). Chris Blackwell plucked them from the club scene in 1968 and signed them to Island Records,whence they began work on their debut LP, Somewhere Down the Line (with Blackwell producing). The band made enough worthwhile noise to get some exposure on the BBC's Top Gear, hosted by John Peel, but the album never sold in large numbers. Island wasn't done with them, however, and in 1969 a second LP,

Live, released in 1994

Editorial Reviews

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..../....re-formed Groundhogs live in concert in the 1990s. The sound is very heavy, and heavily electric, with amplification more suited to late 1960s/early 1970s arena rock than mid-1960s blues-rock. Thus, the covers of standards like Muddy Waters' "Still a Fool," "No More Doggin'," and "I Want You to Love Me," and Willie Dixon's "Shake For Me" won't be to every taste, although McPhee's own established showcases, such as "Split Pts. 1 and 2" and "Thank Christ for the Bomb," fare reasonably well, and we even get a pleasing, restrained run through of "Groundhog Blues."

5 stars Stuart Nicholson's excellent book "Jazz Rock: A History", has only a few faults, one of which is its too abbrieviated history and analysis of the European jazz rock scene. One or two clues to what has been omitted, will be found from listening to this record. Tasavallan Presidentti are one of those seemingly obscure bands who contributed to jazz rock's development. Even so, they were briefly popular in the UK because of "Lambertland".

This 1992 set has been re-released a number of times under slightly different titles, but in every case the tracks are identical. The line up has the classic twin guitars of Ted Turner and Andy Powell supported by Andy Pyle (bass) and Ray Weston (drums). This would be Ted's last appearance on an album by Wishbone Ash.

ZZebra play a varied blend of progressive rock, jazz, African rhythms and fusion, performed by an outstanding line-up of musicians. The intensity and passion with which the band plays is inspiring, and while I may not totally love every bit of it, generally the music is extremely high quality, so I hope this review might encourage some others to look into tracking a copy down. I find this album far superior to the debut album, which has a much higher profile and seems to be considered the better of the two.-------------------

genre:Pop/Rockstyles: Instrumental Rock, Surf RevivalFrom the opening salvo of "Pull of the Moon"'s hellaciously swirling guitar riff, the Mermen's Live at the Haunted House reveals itself as an atypical live record. Culled from a series of frequent appearances between 1991-1994 on Phil Dirt's surf show (broadcast on Los Altos Hills, CA's KFJC-FM), this 74-minute tour de force captures all the majestic reverb,

Elmer Gantry’s actor friend Richard O’Brien (who wrote the ‘Rocky Horror Show’) conceived the thought-provoking album title, and this was the second Stretch album of 1976 vintage. It shows just how much good music was produced by many British bands that tended to get overlooked in their time.

The material for 'You Can't Beat Your Brain For Entertainment’ was written while the band was on the road and includes ten slices of solid, soulful rock with a great R&B edge. (http://www.repertoirerecords.com/artists/stretch/you-cant-beat-your-brain-for-entertainment/)

Editorial ReviewsZager & Evans had a # 1 hit with "In The Year 2525" in 1969. The album containing that hit, 2525 (Exordium & Terminus), reached # 120 on the Billboard charts that same year. We now combine that album with their second eponymous album, Zager & Evans.

Well gang , here it is. A "legal" release of these (sadly) one-hit wonders of the 60's. "In The Year 2525" is , of course , the high point of this duo's output , but there is so much more to discover , or in my case , revisit than just that one classic song.Having owned the original vinyls for many years , I have been forced to listen to pops and clicks for far too long. The releasing label has issued quality product for many a year , and I was comfortable that this would be up to their usual standards.I'm glad to report that it is.Although the liner notes are non-existent , it is all about the music here. Some of the selections are dated (and humorous to listen to now) , but both albums are full of finely-crafted and performed songs.If you are a fan of 60's folk / semi-psych music , you will be pleasantly rewarded with this release. ENJOY!****************************** 5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Zager & Evans two classic albums make it to cd!, January 15, 2013By Karl Anderson "Global Recording Artists" (San Francisco)

This review is from: 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)/Zager & Evans (Audio CD)Finally we see 2525 and Zager & Evans make it to CD. Zager & Evans is only remembered for the classic hit 2525 but if dig deeper and give these two albums a chance I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Granted 2525 is the strongest cut on the two LP's there is still plenty of fertile ground to enjoy on both albums. This is it for Zager & Evans. Danny Zager started a guitar company after these two albums and makes great guitars still to this day. Very nice remastering on it. Two very rare albums from the 60's finally make there appearance on CD! Pick this one up and enjoy some lost gems from the 1960s._______________________________________________

Track List:

1. In the Year 2525 (Exordium Terminus)2. Woman3. Bayoan4. I Remember Heide5. Fred6. Cary Lynn Javes7. Less Than Tomorrow8. Taxi Man9. Self10. In the Land of Green11. Overture12. In My House13. During Rem14. Reginald Ludwig15. The Plastic Park16. The Candy Machine17. Mister Turnkey18. She Never Sleeps Beside Me19. Cruches20. Listen to the People

Peter Michael Hamel, Roberto Detree and Christian Burchard are now so far apart that hardly anyone remembers: they started off together in 1967 at the “Song Parnass” in Munich -each moving in his own direction. Christian built up Embryo, Roberto from Brasil created his own idea of latin-american music and Peter wrote “Kassandra” and “Organum” and made compositions which are still disconcerting for the established avantgarde of Donaueschingen and Darmstadt (avantgardistic and establishment are no contradiction in those places). It is both revealing and quite moving to hear how much the three had to communicate when they got together for Embryo’s Twentieth. Back in 1967/68 Christian Burchard was the vibraphonist of Mal Waldron, the pianist who played with Billie Holliday and John Coltrane and who at least the Japanese recognize for the great musician he is. Just how good the Mal-Chnstian alliance still works can be heard on this record. It is a pity that the other great American musician who was involved in the Embryo evolution – Charlie Mariano – is not to be heard on the record. But in a way he is: when Roland Schaeffer plays the nagasuram, an oboe-like instrument that Mariano studied for years in South India (and so often played with Embryo), you think on hearing Mariano himself, until you realize that it is Roland playing in his own special way – more independent and technically superior. Of course Embryo’s important countries are represented on this record. Marocco by El Houssaine Kill, Nigeria by the Yoruba Dun Dun Ensemble of Lamidi Ayankunie and his friends and India by T.A.S. Mani with his College of Percussion.

The Gimbri, a sort of primitive bass, is played by Houssaine, a Berber. Initially, the playing technique is from Gambia and non other than Jimi Hendrix was influenced by it. The Dun Dun is called piano of the Yorubas and that is how Lamidi plays it, as if it was no drum but a key instrument with a sound range of more than an octave. Erin is the name of the village where the three Nigerians come from and the recording was made in Constance, Germany, so that is the reason for the title “Erin in Constance”.

And the Karnataka College from Bangalore with its incredible intricate yet smoothly interwoven rhythmic layers and lines, is simply one of the world’s most perfect percussion groups and schools -as can be heard in “Rama’s Seven”. If you could hear Kali, the great Indian godness, mother of fire, death and life, I imagine she would sing just like Rama Mani. And there is another point that has to be made: if Christian Burchard and the Embryo musicians had made us aware of only the Karnataka music we should he greatful just for that but they have done the same for us with musicians from all over the world.

I think there isn’t even a group in America that lives World Music like Embryo. It can only be played if you live it, together with the musicians in their own countries and cultures. Those who think they can do without end up sooner or later playing canned music, where World Music has often lead to. That is the reason why I do not wish Embryo a further twenty years. But an Embryo of the Nineties is what I would like for myself and for the numerous friends of the group throughout the world and above all for Embryo themselves!

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprise! By W. T. Haight IIAmazon Custower;Shame on Columbia records for keeping this hidden for 40 years. They seem to have a fetish for this sort of thing. After all, they allowed what we now have as "The Lost Trident Sessions" to languish unseen for 25 years. It was live versions of the major songs from that recording which Columbia released as the original "Between Nothingness & Eternity." This second volume from that same concert contains a shorty from "Trident" and three pieces each from "The Inner Mounting Flame" and "Birds Of Fire." But these are not simply readings of familiar tunes. This is a band at the pinnacle of its estimable powers. Each player is a brilliant soloist, but also a team player who comps for the others. The guys have stretched and squashed these pieces, smacked them flat and thrown them over, popped them inside out and played them backwards. They've wrung as much joy, peace, exuberance, anguish, anger and laughter from them as possible, until they resemble the originals at times, but also not at all. This is muscular music which calls to mind a world record athletic performance: its tempos are furious, its harmonies angular and shifting, its rhythms thunderous yet intricate, its execution serving precision and inspiration equally. It will hit you in the solar plexus and knock the wind straight out of you.

Five stars is not nearly enough for this music. How about several hundred each for Billy, Rick, Jan, Jerry and Johnny Mac. And another hundred for Rex Bogue's (RIP) magnificent double rainbow, the finest example possible of the right guitar for the right player

One of the premiere fusion groups, the Mahavishnu Orchestra were considered by most observers during their prime to be a rock band, but their sophisticated improvisations actually put their high-powered music between rock and jazz. Founder and leader John McLaughlin had recently played with Miles Davis and Tony Williams' Lifetime. The original lineup of the group was McLaughlin on electric guitar, violinist Jerry Goodman, keyboardist Jan Hammer, electric bassist Rick Laird, and drummer Billy Cobham. They recorded three intense albums for Columbia during 1971-1973 and then the personnel changed completely for the second version of the group. In 1974, the band consisted of violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, Gayle Moran on keyboards and vocals, electric bassist Ralphe Armstrong, and drummer Narada Michael Walden; by 1975 Stu Goldberg had replaced Moran and Ponty had left. John McLaughlin's dual interests in Eastern religion and playing acoustic guitar resulted in the band breaking up in 1975. Surprisingly, an attempt to revive the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1984 (using Cobham, saxophonist Bill Evans, keyboardist Mitchell Forman, electric bassist Jonas Hellborg, and percussionist Danny Gottlieb) was unsuccessful; one Warner Bros. album resulted. However, when one thinks of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it is of the original lineup, which was very influential throughout the 1970s. ~ Scott Yanow, RoviThe Mahavishnu Orchestra, in its original incarnation, lasted just four years, but in that brief time, the pioneering quintet set both the template and the high-water mark for fusion music. No band ever rocked as hard in a jazzy place as guitarist John McLaughlinís charging ensemble.

The recruitment of the new drummer Emil Amos (formally of the band Grails) has brought around a new sound to the band Om. When I first heard the news that Chris Hakius had left the band and had quit drumming all together I was worried that Om was over. This however was not the case. Al found a new drummer to join Om and I must say he has fit in very well. Amos brings a different style of drumming to Om. As opposed to Hakius who’s drumming was very repetitive, Amos’s drumming is full of twists and turns. Just listen to the drum fills on “Meditation is the Practice of Death”. Not to mention the fact that his drum kit sounds just amazing!

God is Good is composed of four songs. The first song entitled “Thebes” is a crushing 19 minutes of pure hypnotic doom. It also incorporates something new for an Om album – the addition of other instruments aside from the bass and drums. Thebes starts out with a tambura that drones on and on and flows just right with the song. Al proceeds to come in with some very slow bass licks. These bass licks fill your mind and are perfect for meditating to. “Descends supine grace of the luminant” is the first verse that comes out of Al’s mouth. I swear Al Cisneros must have the one of the greatest voices I have ever heard. Then the drums arrive, when hearing these drums I am reminded of a far away land, perhaps somewhere in the Middle East. There is something very tribal about these drums. About 8 minutes into the song things change. A single distorted bass note changes the whole atmosphere, from a relaxing hypnotic jam to a stupendously loud world of riffs and amazing drumming.

The second song “Meditation is the Practice of Death” is another great song. Al’s bass pummels on and on. There are plenty of strong drum fills. Al’s vocals are everflowing and make you just want to bob your head up and down for the whole song. Near the end of the song there is another instrument added into the mixture of bass and drums – a flute. The flute really brings out the best of this track and I am glad that Om decided to add more instruments into this album.

The album ends with two Cremation Ghats. The first of the Cremation Ghat’s is fast and upbeat. Al’s bass provides a funky and fun head nodding flow. While the drums and claps can really get you into the song. The song is also accompanied by some nice chants of Al and another vocalist who brings in some very high-pitched vocals. Despite these vocals being so high-pitched, they fit right in with the song. The second Cremation Ghat is a slow droning song. The tambura is back and mixes very well with the song. While I was listening to this song I found myself wondering what a Cremation Ghat was exactly. So I did a little research. In South Asia “ghat” refers to a series of steps leading down to a body of water. Now, I suppose to become a cremation ghat a body is cremated by the water, allowing the ashes to be washed away. This is kind of what Cremation Ghat II does to you. It’s like it washes away your entire being. At the end of this album I feel much replenished. That may sound strange, but that’s just the feeling this album gives me.

It seems that everything about this album just flows together. It really must be one of the greatest releases of 2009. If you’re looking for music that slows you down and puts you in trance – start listening to this album. In fact, I would recommend that you start listening to this band all together.- Onod, December 1st, 2009 ****************************************1. Thebes 19:09 2. Meditation Is the Practice of Death 06:52 3. Cremation Ghat I 03:12 instrumental4. Cremation Ghat II 04:58 instrumental

The 1970s were somewhat a new beginning for Aretha Franklin. By this time, she had ended her turbulent marriage with former manager Ted White, and at this point, when it came to originals, she was front and center as songwriter. And also this period would bring some of her most significant albums of the early 1970s.

In August of that year, Franklin released her nineteenth album (and sixth for Atlantic), Spirit in the Dark. Produced by Tom Dowd, Arif Madrin and Jerry Wexler, the album featured the hit cover of Ben E. King’s, “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”. Her version was certified gold, while topping the R&B charts. Like King’s version, it also peaked just one position shy of the pop top 10.

Most of Spirit of the Dark were covers, all of which Franklin would definitely make her own, including B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone”, the Carole King and Gerry Goffin-penned, “Oh No Not My Baby”, and the jazz-pop standard “That’s All I Want From You”. But five tracks would be originals. Four of them was solely written by Franklin, including the title track (which peaked at number 3 and 23 on the R&B and pop charts, respectively), “Try Matty’s”, and “You and Me”. One track, “Pullin’” was co-written by Franklin sister Carolyn.

Despite positive reviews and two hit singles, Spirit in the Dark became Franklin’s first album not to peak in the pop top twenty, as it would hit number twenty-five on Billboard’s 200 Album Charts. On the R&B side, it peaked at number two. But overtime, the album would go on to be considered to be one of her best. It was re-issued in 1994, had one of it’s songs (“Try Matty’s”) featured in the movie, Waiting to Exhale, and was even sampled by Kanye West.

1 Don't Play That Song 2 The Thrill Is Gone (From Yesterday's Kiss) 3 Pullin' 4 You And Me 5 Honest I Do 6 Spirit In The Dark 7 When The Battle Is Over 8 One Way Ticket 9 Try Matty's 10 That's All I Want From You 11 Oh No Not My Baby 12 Why I Sing The Blues

Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(33%) Excellent addition to any rock music collection(33%)

Satin Whale biographyThe German band 'Satin Whale' was founded around 1971 in the region of Cologne by Thomas Brück (bass, vocals), Gerard Dellmann (keyboards), Dieter Roesberg (guitar, sax ,flute, vocals) and Horst Schöffgen (drums). Their first record 'Desert Places' was released in 1974 on the green 'Brain' label, musically a typical example of German Seventies rock not unlike their stablemates 'Grobschnitt' and 'Jane' for the harder edge, with guitar and organ jams.During a rock contest in 1974 ('Rocksound 74') 'Satin Whale' was elected the most popular German band. For the second release 'Lost Mankind' 1975 new drummer Wolfgang Hieronymi joined and the band changed to the 'Teldec' label, continuing musically in the same direction as their first record, with 'Jethro Tull' inspired flute-work. The band then went on tour as a support act for 'Barclay James Harvest'. This had a direct influence on their music and their third record 'As A Keepsake' was inspired by BJH, less rock and more symphonic influenced pop.Their consequent tour served for the double live 'Whalecome', which showed the good musicianship of the band, giving room to extended improvisations, especially on the 17-minute long 'Hava Nagila. In the same year 'Satin Whale' released 'A Whale of Time', a good record especially the title track, an instrumental with a great string arrangement. In 1979 the band composed the soundtrack for the German movie 'Die Faust In Der Tasche' by director Max Willutzki. As the film was a popular and with their popularity rising the band released the same year 'On Tour'. In 1980 'Satin Whale' released 'Don't Stop The Show',their last and commercial record, together with Ex Triumvirat singer Barry Palmer and the band split up in 1981.'Desert Places' ,' Lost Mankind' and 'Whalecome' are recommended.

The German band 'Satin Whale' was founded around 1971 in the region of Cologne by Thomas Brück and Gerard Dellmann. Their first record 'Desert Places' was released in 1974 on the green 'Brain' label, musically a typical example of German Seventies rock. The band then went on tour as a support act for 'Barclay James Harvest'. This had a direct influence on their music and their third record 'As A Keepsake' was inspired by BJH, less rock and more symphonic influenced pop.Their consequent tour served for the double live 'Whalecome', which showed the good musicianship of the band, giving room to extended improvisations.ProgarchivesSongs / Tracks Listing

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